


The Purpose of Stonehenge

by Amahami



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Community: rs_games, Drinking to Cope, Homelessness, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, R/S Games 2017, Suicidal Thoughts, Summer Solstice, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-17
Updated: 2017-11-17
Packaged: 2019-01-17 14:18:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12367533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amahami/pseuds/Amahami
Summary: R/S Games 2017 - Day 14 - Team RemusFollow Remus on a journey through the sacred summer solstice ceremonies in four different years, taking place at Stonehenge.1977, when Remus and Sirius first started dating. 1982, the summer following the Potter deaths. 1992, the summer after Harry started at Hogwarts. And 1998, six weeks after the Final Battle.Read along as they both sacrifice and receive gifts from the gods. Was it worth it? You tell me.It is canon-divergent, but only where necessary. No graphic sex, but it is there, though it’s mostly skipped over.





	1. 1977

**Author's Note:**

> **Warnings:** unhealthy coping mechanisms (excessive drinking to cope), suicidal!Remus, homeless Remus, allusions to sex work, allusions to disordered eating (not really by choice), allusions to child abuse (Harry and Sirius) and neglect (Harry), symptoms of PTSD (agoraphobia, co-dependency, panic attack), strong allusions to sex, but nothing explicit  
>  **Genres:** angst, hurt/comfort, partial au, happy ending  
>  **Prompt:** #105 - Picture of Stonehenge at sunrise.  
> 
> 
> Thank you to my alpha, [Shilo](http://archiveofourown.org/users/shilo1364/pseuds/shilo1364/works?fandom_id=136512), and my beta, [Anna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annachibi/pseuds/annachibi).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This takes place between their sixth and seventh year - everyone was 17. James and Lily hadn't begun dating yet. Or even become friends. It was Remus and Sirius' first Summer Solstice as a couple.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> James' mom is called both Effie and Euphemia, and his dad is called both Fleamont and Monty.
> 
> Thank you to my wonderful betas A and S.

Sirius wore an old-style tunic halfway down his thighs, and thick opaque stockings underneath. 

He looked good but Remus, on the other hand, looked _stunning_. His tawny curls had been straightened and twisted into a careful plait, with flowers woven into it. It was tied at the end with a pale green ribbon that perfectly matched Sirius' stockings. 

His face was painted, just enough to give him more colour than he normally had, but not enough to cover up his many scars. 

Remus' lips were coated in pink, and it was absolutely, devastatingly tempting. 

Remus entered Sirius' room, having been returned by the girls. "Absolutely not." Remus just had to see Sirius' face to know what he was thinking. "No kissing. This is _L‰ppglans_. And while it may be magically imbued, it will still come off from kissing. Or drinking, eating, or anything else involving my mouth." He ticked each point off on his fingers as he spoke. 

"It's nearly time to begin, anyway." Sirius replied, grinning. He held his hand out to his gorgeous boyfriend, whose smile could melt steel. 

They walked down the steps to the Potters' front room, where Euphemia and Fleamont were waiting for them. 

"Oh, you look so handsome, Sirius! And Remus, well, you clean up nicely!" She smiled and hugged them. "Are you excited?" 

"Yes!" Sirius exclaimed, looking to Remus, who remained quiet. 

Remus' lips were turned up into a bigger smile than Sirius had ever seen outside of Hogwarts. He was nodding so frantically his braid was flying up and down. 

"That's what I thought." Euphemia grinned. "You remember your dance lessons?" 

Sirius and Remus shuddered. Those lessons had been embarrassing, to say the least. Remus had lost his trousers more than once, and Sirius had tripped over Remus and sent them both toppling over numerous times. 

Remus had suggested they never tell the other Marauders what happened in those lessons. 

Effie and Monty shared a look, which turned into a challenge. Monty sighed and walked off to go get his other son. 

"I almost want to apologise for inviting Miss Evans, but it's such an important day, and she's already missed so many. Such a shame that so many believe muggleborns don't have a right to participate in these events." Effie shook her head. "But James has been a right pain since he found out, hasn't he?" 

Remus and Sirius shared a look of their own before looking back to Effie and nodding emphatically. 

"He hasn't stopped _waxing poetic_ , as he calls it, in days. We haven't planned a single prank!" Sirius said, outraged. 

His mum raised an eyebrow, disbelieving. 

After a moment, Sirius remedied his statement, "Okay, okay, _James_ has not helped to plan a single prank. Moony and I have planned a few." 

"We included some of your ideas, Mrs. Potter. Thank you for suggesting them." Remus was absolutely beaming. Who would have thought that Euphemia Potter would have been a prankster herself? 

Remus had walked around with Hufflepuff-yellow hair for over a week; Effie had only returned his hair to its natural colour the previous night. And even then, she only did it because the counter-spell dries hair out, and a night soaking it in restorative potions was necessary. 

He had complained, but Sirius had reminded him of the time he hadn't soaked his own hair, which then kept breaking when he tried to put it in a plait weeks later. Sirius had ended up with hair shorter than Walburga tried to make him keep it. 

Just then, Fleamont came down the steps with a shouting James floating behind him. 

"But Lily might need my help to get ready, Dad! What if she needs my help? I can't make her like me if I don't help her!" 

Fleamont rolled his eyes and deposited his younger son in front of his wife, who nodded. 

" _Puer manere prope._ " Effie waved her wand, and a yellow rope of light connected it with James' back. 

Remus pressed his lips together, trying not to laugh. 

Sirius had no such qualms, and his laugh echoed through the room, "A Child Leash spell? Really?" 

Effie grinned. James pouted, which set off Remusí laughter. 

Fleamont shrugged and headed back upstairs. 

He came back down shortly, Lily walking calmly behind him. 

She looked every bit the Pureblood, minus her face shape, which lacked the cheekbones and defined jaw that marks a Pureblood. Lily was confident in her old-fashioned summer robes. They were light and airy, but awkward and hard to manoeuvre in without prior practice. 

Remus wore similar ones, in warm sunflower yellow, and fitted for his figure. They hugged his biceps, becoming gradually looser toward his forearms. They were a bit tight around his chest with the old Lupin insignia running around the hems in carrot orange. 

ìIím sure someone will realise I'm a bloody werewolf with all this wolf shit," he said, gesturing to the wolves on his robes. 

Sirius' tunic matched the colour of Remus', with orange King Cobras circling the hem, their hoods out. 

Lily's robes were white, with green petunias along the hem. 

Fleamont wore robes as well, though they were a shimmering grey, with solid purple lions at the hem. Effie's tunic matched Monty's. 

James wore white robes with solid green lions at the hem. 

"Can I apparate us there, Mum?" James asked, tugging on the leash spell. 

Lily interrupted immediately, _Absolutely not._

When the Potters all turned to her, she shrugged. "I don't want to get splinched and stain my robes before we at least get to the ceremony." 

Monty snorted. "Shall I take you then, _mademoiselle_?" He held his elbow out elegantly. 

Effie rolled her eyes and wrapped an arm around her son. "Remus, are you okay apparating yourself and Sirius? I can come back if you're not okay to do it." 

Remus smiled, his makeup making his face absolutely glow. Magically, of course. 

"I'll be fine, Mrs. Potter." 

And with that, they all nodded at each other and then apparated to the grounds of the ceremony. 

It was half an hour before the sun began to rise, still. 

[The above images are what Stonehenge looks like to magical beings]

Lily gasped. "Stonehenge? That's- how?" 

Remus smiled, putting on his Tutor Face. "There's a nationwide effort to keep the muggles occupied elsewhere, today. Muggle repelling charms, muggle directional suggestions, undercover work to make sure there's a football game happening in Scotland or northern England on the Solstices..." 

Lily shook her head as Remus continued to talk, telling her all sorts of things about the historic location that the muggles didn't know. 

Under normal circumstances, Remus absolutely lit up when he was explaining something, under normal circumstances. Right then, he was positively _shining_. Like the sun would be, shortly. 

ìMost people donít believe the ritual works the way the stories say it does, but they all continue to do it anyway; it's an important tradition.î Remus left out how many Purebloods were trying to prevent muggleborns from attending, even though most muggleborns have a squib parent or grandparent. 

Sirius sighed as his boyfriend meandered away, jabbering. He stayed close to Euphemia. Although he was 17, he still wasn't brave enough to face his parents alone. 

_Not stupid enough, you mean,_ said Remus' voice in his head. Sirius rolled his eyes. He already knew Remus thought only stupid people would face... Awful people like that on their own. 

Sirius wasn't sure what he thought about that, but he knew Remus knew his shit. 

Lily and Remus walked off, discussing the various types of spells used around the site. Lily had been given details about what would happen, and had been given the same lessons everybody gets their first year participating as an "adult,î since the ceremony considered those aged 15 when it began adults. 

However, she hadn't been told where they were going, because it was far more stunning to see in person. Sirius would know. He had participated in every single one since birth. Plus the one before he was born. 

He knew pretty well how the ceremony would go by now, but he hadnít yet learned the more complicated dances for those who would be in the centre. Nobody who isn't going to dance at the next Solstice or has never danced in the centre is allowed to know. 

He and Remus were both one step closer, though; they were in a Steady relationship with one another, so they got to dance in the middle ring, instead of the outer ring like the single adults, widows, children, and new parents. 

Only those whoíd been together a multiple of fifteen years got to dance in the centre. 

Couples who had been together fifteen or more years got to wear purple with green embellishments, whereas those together for thirty or more years got to wear grey with purple embellishments. 

There weren't many of those, not in these times. 

Sirius looked around and noticed how many more people were wearing grey with black or vice-versa. Widows. There were always some, but... Even the younger ones were wearing grey and black. 

He shook off his anxiety about the darkness covering the whole of the Wizarding World. Today was a day of Life and Celebration. And fertility. 

Sirius snorted. Like he and Remus could even do anything with fertility. Wait a second. 

Sirius turned, terrified, to Euphemia, who had been helping to set up the spells for the infant chairs. 

"'Fee- 'Feem?" He tried to get her name out. 

"Yes, Sirius?" Euphemia looked up and frowned upon seeing the distress on her older son's face. 

"The- the fertility rituals. That- that doesn't... For two guys, right?" 

Effie doubled over with laughter. 

She tried to comfort him, "No, Sirius, I- Oh gods, that's a hilarious thought. A second." She held her index finger up to Sirius while she finished laughing. 

Once Effie calmed down, she stood up to face Sirius. 

"It makes semen more potent, and helps babies stick to the uterus better. It doesn't give anyone a uterus. If it did, we would definitely know by now." 

Sirius took a deep breath, and let it out quickly. "Thanks Mum. I was so scared for a moment." 

There was a choked sound that came from a little ways behind them. 

"Walburga." Euphemia greeted coldly. 

"Bradshaw." The other woman returned, just as coldly. 

"Is your husband shining the politician's shoes with your galleons again? Better go check." 

Walburga huffed, "Not without my son." 

Effie rolled her eyes. "Regulus is talking to the Bulstrodes. Just over there. Now leave, or the preparations will not be finished in time for the sunrise." 

Walburga glared at Sirius, then Euphemia, before turning and stalking away. 

Sirius was trembling and looked to be on the verge of tears. Remus came running as soon as he saw Walburga leaving. 

Remus wrapped Sirius up, and hugged him tightly. 

Sirius was shaking, but he was okay. Even if he wasn't, he had to be. It was an important day. Possibly one of the most important of his life. 

So he held on tight, and took a few deep breaths. Then he pulled away from his boyfriend and smiled. 

"Let's help get the children ready," he said, glancing in the direction of the mob of children. 

Remus looked scared, like he was afraid he'd somehow Turn the children. Sirius rolled his eyes and tugged Remus along. 

"You can't be afraid of children forever, Remus. Come on, it's just a bit of magical face paint." 

When he said magical face paint, he really meant it. The paint was made out of specially grown wheat, mixed with water, and dried. Then rose water was added, along with pigmented plants to make it coloured, and mixed with five different types of plants, each having a different meaning and purpose. 

The Old Way. 

Everyone knew this, and few people were entrusted with the creation of the paint. But anyone who wanted to tolerate excited children could use the paint. 

So Remus couldn't use that as an excuse. Unfortunately. He reluctantly followed Sirius to the facepaint table. 

He picked up a palette of paint, which had the primary colours and secondary colours already mixed and under a stasis charm. 

He and Sirius sat down on a bench, and some of the line of children transferred to them. 

One cheek and the forehead was for traditional runes and images. But the other cheek could be whatever the child wanted. 

It was much easier than it looked, at least Remus thought so. He had been anticipating it to be difficult, because children are difficult. But they sat still long enough for him to do one portion, then he let them up while he did a section of another child. 

Everything went like clockwork. 

Eventually, the bell chimed to tell them it was five minutes before sunrise began. Sirius and Remus looked at each other worriedly. There were still over a dozen children yet to be painted. 

All the adults who had been socialising came rushing over, and between them all, the children were done being painted in just a few minutes. 

"Places, everybody!" the Chief Warlock's voice rang out over the chaotic grounds. 

Sirius and Remus stood, taking one anotherís hands, and dashed to the monument. 

There were flowers of all sorts strung everywhere. There was fruit atop every stone, and runes carefully carved thousands of years ago on nearly every surface. 

Just inside the outer ring of the Henge, the children and new parents stood, along with those fifteen or older who were not in a steady relationship. 

Those under fifteen wore brown tunics and robes, and those over fifteen who were not in a steady relationship wore white with green. New parents wore green along with their normal colours. 

There was a series of small stones separating them from those in steady relationships. 

Those who had been in their relationship under fifteen years wore yellow with orange, like Remus and Sirius. 

Only those who had been together a multiple of fifteen were in the centre of the Henge, entrusted with the most crucial parts of the ceremony. 

Remus and Sirius were between the children and the centre circle. They would begin the ceremony next to each other, but they would not be close for long. 

They were next to the Potters on one side, and the Ollivanders on the other. 

Remus smiled tentatively. While he was confident he would do well, he was also terrified. He didn't want to be the first in over a dozen years to fuck the ceremony up. 

He took a deep breath and smiled to Sirius, who smiled back. 

Remus squeezed Sirius' hand reassuringly. He was lucky - Walburga and Orion had been together for thirty years this year, so they were in a separate circle. He wouldn't have to interact with them. 

The music began as the sun began to rise. Remus' skin prickled from the ancient magick. 

It began simply: a quick bow to one's partner, a spin, a peck on the cheek. But then the person on the left replaced the left-hand person in the couple on the right-hand side. 

So Sirius was dancing with Mrs. Ollivander, and Remus was dancing with Fleamont. 

It got more complicated, then. 

Words were never made to describe the dance in English, which is why most of wizardkind learned Latin. 

After fifteen bars, those on the right moved one couple to the left. After an additional fifteen bars, those on the left moved one couple to the right. This continued until each dancer made it back to their original partner. 

The children could dance if they wanted, but the important part was going in a circle clockwise. Those over fifteen were responsible for keeping the pace steady. 

No adult could be next to another, unless there were no alternatives. 

They were responsible for keeping the children from running off, and for taking care of anyone who couldnít continue on their own. They were also responsible for picking the children up when they inevitably fell. 

In the centre, the couples of the year began by chanting in a mostly-lost language, from before things were written down, and then they began their dance. 

It was an intricate dance, but simple. 

They went anticlockwise. 

They began to glow as the sun came closer to the horizon, and began to peek over. 

Once the sun was completely over the horizon, the glow turned into intense brightness for a partial second, as magickal power from each of the couples, of their combined core, rose up and combined, before silently exploding and covering the entire sky for the time it took for those in the middle to do their final round of dancing with their own partners. 

During this time, those in the centre sat on the short rocks on one side of the Henge -- they each used a lot of energy for the ceremony. 

Those in the outer ring ceased when those in the middle ring ended their dance by bowing to their partner. Then they all turned to bow in the direction of those in the centre of the Henge at once. 

Magick flowed around everyone when that happened, and it was common to see people shiver or even sneeze from it. 

The young children and babies often cried from it. 

It was more powerful than any magic they would ever use, and some of the most powerful magick in existence. 

From the time the ceremony began to the time the Chief Warlock dismissed them from the circles, it was absolutely crucial that they not speak. 

It always seemed like the longest part of the ceremony, the time between the bows and when the Chief Warlock dismissed them. 

Anyone under fifteen could speak, but it was discouraged. 

The only noises in the area were the babbling of babies and toddlers, and the occasional statement of boredom from children. 

Remus could hear thunder, but he wasn't sure anyone else could. He wanted to get out from the open area of the circles, and into the charmed sections of the Henge. 

But the Chief Warlock still hadn't dismissed them, so he impatiently shifted from one foot to the other. 

Sirius looked over at Remus and gave him a small smile. Sirius' left hand was twitching. He was impatient, too. 

Finally, _finally_ , the Chief Warlock said, with a _Sonorus_ , "Dismissed." 

As he said it, tables appeared as if from thin air, though they had simply been hidden under layers of charms and spells to prevent them from distracting children during the ceremony. 

There was an outdoor kitchen, dozens and dozens of tables to sit at, a playground, and dozens of booths. 

"Let's get under cover," Remus said, pulling Sirius to a table near the bowling booth. 

Half of every couple was walking around with bright lip prints on their cheek, Sirius included. Remus smirked and cupped Sirius' clean cheek in his hand. 

"I love you," Remus breathed, looking at Sirius with love in his eyes. 

Sirius' heart stuttered, and his eyes grew wide. His neck went red and he grinned, nodding. He wasn't ready to say it, and Remus had a split second of panic, before he realised Sirius' eyes were full of love, too. 

They kissed tenderly, separating a moment later when Effie sat down at the table, grinning. 

"May your love be blessed by the gods," she said, painting a rune on Remus' cheek. 

"May your love be blessed by the gods," she repeated, painting a rune on Sirius' empty cheek. 

"May your love be blessed by the gods," she said once more, grasping their clasped hands and kissing them. 

She released their hands. "As I say, so mote it be." 

Remus would have been a vibrant red, if he didn't have thick makeup on. He grinned at Euphemia, who kissed his forehead, then went on to kiss Sirius'. 

"I feel blessed to have seen your first declaration of love. Thank you, Remus, Sirius," Euphemia said, still smiling. 

Sirius frowned. "But I didn't say it back." 

She shook her head. "You don't have to say it for it to be known." 

Sirius gave her a tentative smile. "So. Breakfast?" 

Euphemia nodded and stood up, Remus and Sirius not far behind. 

The line was long. So. Long. It took them almost two hours to get their food. But finally, they did. 

They took their food to the table where James, Lily, and Fleamont were waiting. Their food sat under stasis in front of them. 

James was glaring at his food so intensely he didn't notice the three of them approach until Euphemia sat down. 

James startled and went to dig into his food. 

Lily elbowed him, and he ended the stasis charm. He went to eat again, but Lily elbowed him again. 

"What?" James half-shouted, startling her. Lily just raised her eyebrows in response, glancing at the other table members, who were putting a bit of each part of their meal on an offering plate. 

"Oh, right. Sorry," James said, placing the bite on his fork on the offering dish. 

Once the offerings had been collected, they were put on the ground beneath the table for the gods. 

Then the meal commenced, and they dug into their breakfasts. 

Once they were done, Fleamont gave them each six sickles and twenty-five knuts. 

Remus tried to refuse it, and it was only the threat of giving him more than that that got him to accept it. 

Lily thanked him and ran over to a game she apparently recognised. 

James, Remus, and Sirius began to meander around. They visited Sirius' favourite booth, the candy floss. 

Sirius asked for his to be gold, and shaped like a lion. James and Remus rolled their eyes, and tugged Sirius to the next booth. 

It was a fishing booth, Peter's favourite. He wasn't there yet, but it was only a matter of time. They had agreed to meet there because it was one of the less popular booths, and they all enjoyed the challenge. 

It was impossible to cheat, because everything was warded against it; the magical fish, the pole, the pool, even the water itself. 

Remus shrugged and gave the booth operator five knuts, and was handed a fishing pole in exchange. 

Each type of fish meant a different prize category. Silver was the hardest to see, and the scarcest, so it was the grand prize category. 

Remus knew Sirius had been wanting a new record, and if he managed to win one? Well, it might not be Bowie or Mercury, but it was still good music. 

Then there were gold, bronze, red, and black (in that order). 

The first three fish touched were considered caught. They appeared as thin vinyl fish on the side of the pool as soon as they were touched. 

Remus managed two bronze and a red. He sighed and chose two chocolate frogs and a dung bomb. 

He smiled at the wizard as he collected his prizes and handed his fish in. 

Peter rushed over and threw his arms around James and Sirius' necks. "There you are! Moony, getting started without me?" He put on his most offended look. 

Remus just rolled his eyes and handed Peter one of the chocolate frogs. 

Peter grinned and shoved it in his mouth as he handed the wizard behind Remus a large handful a knuts. 

"Only six-" 

"Fish at a time, I know, I know." They all chuckled at Peter. 

Time went quickly, until after lunch. Peter was running on coffee, tea, and sweets, and James somehow had energy, but Remus was falling asleep on his feet, and Sirius needed a nap. 

So they parted ways and headed to the hill on the north side of the grounds. 

Remus conjured a big blanket, and the two of them laid down next to each other on it. 

They traded some sleepy kisses before Remus dropped off. 

Sirius watched Remus sleep for a few minutes, before settling in, himself. Remus was absolutely gorgeous in every way. He couldn't imagine a future without Remus in it. 

Sirius smiled and laid his head on Remus' shoulder and let himself drift off, warmed by the summer sun. 

______________ 

He woke up to gentle kisses on his forehead, and he smiled and lifted his head to meet Remus' mouth with his. 

"It's time for dinner, Pads." 

Sirius just hummed and kissed Remus again. 

"Really, Sirius. Come on." Remus half-forced Sirius to a sitting position. 

Sirius grumbled and slowly opened his eyes. He frowned until he met Remus' eyes, when his mouth turned upwards into an unwilling smile. 

Sirius stood, offering a hand to Remus and heaving him to his feet. 

They kept their hands intertwined, just changing their positions, and walked together towards the meal booth. 

In line, they exchanged short kisses, just as a reminder that the other was there - there were many Purebloods, and while it hadn't been an issue so far, Sirius was keeping an eye and ear out for his family. 

Remus was trying to ignore the werewolf discussion going on behind him. They were agreeing that even if a kid survives a werewolf attack, they should be _put down._

Remus shivered. It was only a few days past the new moon, so he knew he was relatively safe, but it never failed to spark fear in his heart to hear so many people say he should have been euthanised. 

Like he was a sick animal. Which he kind of was, but he only believed it closer to the moon. 

Sirius kissed him a bit longer when Remus shivered, recognising the cause, and keeping him a bit tighter against his side. 

Once they got their food, they went to find the other Marauders and the Potters. 

They made it to their table without a hassle and set their food down. The new offering plate was already full, but they both managed to get all of their offerings onto it. 

At first. It tipped over once they actually sat down. 

Euphemia sighed and handed James a galleon. Peter laughed, digging into his food. 

Dinner was splendid, but dessert was better. It was apple pie, made the same as it was thousands of years ago, but with more spices. 

There was only one thing better than the apple pie: Remus. His cheeks were flushed, because of the makeup still on his face, and his hair was beginning to come out of the plait. It was a great look on him. 

His lips were stained dark, and his smile was huge. 

Sirius watched him eat his pie, losing track of the world around him. Remus glowed ethereally. He was perfect. 

Suddenly, an elbow was jabbing him in the ribs. 

"Shit, ow! _What._ " He looked to where the elbow came from. It was Peter. He glared at the blond. 

"It's time for _Pila n'angere_. Are you coming, or are you going to keep staring at Moony?" 

Remus laughed softly and put his hand over his mouth in an attempt to hide it. 

"He's going to have to come if he wants to stare at me, Wormy. I'm coming." 

Sirius and Remus got up from the table. "When did Mum and Dad leave?" 

James, who was stood at the end of the table, rolled his eyes. "Like a half-hour ago, mate. They wanted to get some practise in before it starts." 

Sirius blinked a couple of times before responding. "Oh." 

They walked together to where the lines marked the pitch. 

The rules were easy. If you touched a ball (about the size of quaffles, but soft like the child version, so they wouldn't injure anyone if they were hit), you were out. If you used your wand, you were out. 

You had to use your magic to move it. The winning team each got a half-off token for any of the sweets booths, and the last person standing got whatever the winner from last year provided for this year. 

This year, the prize was a free altar from Nott's shop, and a free package of incense. 

Nott's altars were known to be the best in Britain, maybe the best in Europe. 

That was only for the adult game, though. The toddlers got a big lollipop if their team won, and the other toddlers got a small lollipop. 

The children chose from a prize bucket if their team won. The child who was left standing in each age group got a free book on wandless magic, unless they already had one. 

The toddlers went just before lunch, because they took the longest. The children went after lunch. Now, it was time for the adult game. 

To prevent anyone from getting hurt, there was a magical lock on the field, so only non-lethal magic could be used (that wasn't added until 1864, when a sixth year was killed by an ex on the field). 

The Chief Warlock was the referee, and also the person who randomly assigned people sides. 

The Marauders were split up - Peter and Sirius on one side, and James and Remus on the other. 

There were only enough balls for two-thirds of the participants to have a ball at any given time, until it was down to six or fewer people, when the ratio changed to one-half. Eighty balls were on the line between the pitch halves. 

If the game didn't end within 45 minutes, the balls began to chase the nearest players. 

When the Chief Warlock said "Start" many of the younger adults put their hands in front of them to help concentrate their magic. None of the Marauders did. 

Balls began to fly, and within just a few seconds, there were a dozen people on the loser benches on each side. 

It was nigh-impossible to watch, with so many people. 

The number of people getting out slowed down quickly, but by the time it did, only about half of each team remained. 

Less than thirty seconds had passed. 

"Sirius!" Walburga's voice rang out across the pitch. 

He froze. And was immediately hit by a ball, likely sent his way by said bitch. Sirius was portkeyed to the loser bench on his side, shaking. 

He tried to find Peter on the pitch, but couldn't. He looked around on the bench, and couldn't find him there either. Where the hell did he go? 

Sirius frantically searched everywhere he could with his eyes, but Peter wasn't in sight. 

Suddenly Walburga screamed. 

"Rat, there's a rat! It bit me!" Walburga screeched, running off the field. 

Sirius bit his lip hard to keep from laughing, but his grin was huge. He put his hand in front of his mouth in an attempt to hide it. 

A rat appeared at his leg, and morphed into Peter. Sirius wrapped his arm around Peter's shoulders and laughed, leaning into him. "You're the best, mate." 

Peter grinned, "I know." 

They stayed like that, looking out over the pitch. There were only a few dozen people left, James and Remus included. They saw Fleamont on the opposing side's loser stand, watching his wife, who was on the same side as Peter and Sirius. She looked bored. 

James was sweating, the game requiring his complete concentration. 

Remus was concentrating, too, but didn't look nearly as constipated as James. He was smiling, his eyes bright. There was a crease between his eyebrows that would go away for a few seconds sometimes, to come back in full force moments later. 

Unlike a majority of the participants, Remus didn't stay still - he couldn't. He was jumping over balls, ducking under arms, and running to people about to be hit, redirecting the balls to the other side. 

Remus was more graceful than a deer in a valley. 

No, really. Deer stumbled often, and weren't all that graceful with so much leg. Remus, however, with his miles of legs that Sirius just loved to-- Well. Remus was far more graceful than James could ever be, despite his Pureblood upbringing. 

Sirius looked around the pitch, and there were only a dozen people left on the whole pitch - eight on Remus and James' side, and four on his and Peter's. 

"We're going to lose," Pete mumbled, elbowing Sirius lightly. Sirius nodded distractedly, eyes glued to Remus' form. 

Sirius already knew what would happen, but hoped it wouldn't - Remus would get to the last two or three on his side, and then he would let himself get out to keep the attention off himself. 

Why couldn't he just bloody well accept attention? Sirius sighed in frustration, watching as the opposing side dwindled until there were none left. 

Though the other side began cheering, the game wasn't over, not yet. It was everyone for themselves, to get a final winner. 

Remus was the second one of them out. He was portkeyed to the benches, panting slightly. He found Sirius and gave him a bright smile and a thumbs up. Sirius rolled his eyes and flipped Remus a V. 

Remus shook his head and turned his head back to the game. Sirius followed his lead. 

There were three participants left. James, who was red in the face and looked ready to keel over, some bloke from the Mulciber family, and the Prewett girl. 

James was bowled over by two balls at the same time, and landed in a heap in the loser stands. 

Remus leapt up and handed James a goblet of water, making him drink it before letting him breathe. 

"Merlin, let a bloke breathe," Peter muttered beside him. Sirius nodded in agreement, looking at the pitch. 

There were two balls for the two people still on the pitch. One of the balls was slowly getting closer to Mulciber, while the other was zipping around trying to catch Mulciber off guard. 

It seemed he couldn't control either of them, no matter how hard he tried. And boy was he trying. Sweat was pouring down his face, which was darker than usual. 

The Prewett girl was smiling, although she was visibly exhausted. 

Suddenly, the slow moving ball flew in the opposite direction and hit the girl so hard in the stomach that when she was transported to the stands, she was thrown back several feet. 

Sirius grimaced. 

Mulciber smiled, hands on his knees, as the Chief Warlock announced the winner. The Chief Warlock also reminded everyone that they should go get cleaned up, because the Sunset would begin in half an hour. 

Everyone slowly made their way to the water closets to wash up as a horde. 

The Marauders met up in the middle of the pitch. 

"That was bloody amazing!" James gushed, "Did you see that Prewett girl? She was so talented! Not as talented as me, of course, but who is? Other than Lily," he amended, as if he didn't do that often. 

"Remus! You were fucking awesome! So bloody graceful." Peter shook his head. 

Sirius wrapped an arm around Remus' shoulders, murmuring into his ear. "You did amazing, Moony. Shame you didn't win, though." 

Remus shrugged and kissed Sirius quickly. 

By the time they got washed up, it was nearly time for the sunset to begin. The bell signalling five minutes chimed as they headed over to Euphemia, who was waiting for them at their table. 

She cast a careful cleaning spell on everyone's clothing, and then a quick de-wrinkle charm. Well, for Peter it was quick. It wasn't quick for James, who was known to have wrinkled robes, or for the blokes that had slept a few hours. 

Effie just smiled at them, and assured them it wasn't a problem or hassle at all, really. 

By the time everyone's clothes were clean and de-wrinkled, it was time to head over. The Chief Warlock's voice rang out over the grounds, telling them to get into their places. 

They hurried over to the Henge, dispersing to their respective places. 

The effort required for this ceremony was minimal, but the magic far more complex. 

The plants had been removed from all but the archways of the Henge. Each of the runes on the stones had been painted with a special brush in a specific way, with different runes being painted different colours, and the coloured paint had been made in a very particular way with very particular plants. 

It was a painstaking process that probably took all afternoon. 

But the result of it was spectacular. 

There was every colour imaginable, and it made artwork that was just indescribably gorgeous. 

Walking into the outer ring to get to their places made them shiver with how potent the magick was here. 

Everyone was in the same place they were for sunrise, but there were meditation cushions on the ground for them. 

Sirius and Remus took a seat in the middle circle, and crossed their legs in front of them. The meditation would come later. 

There was an offering ball in a metal bowl in front of each of their seats. The balls themselves were about the size of a golf ball, except they were smooth and shining bronze. There were runes engraved and etched with Latin. Remus could almost see the magic emanating from them. 

There were incense bowls every few people, with incense in them, made the Old Way. 

Sirius held his hand out to Remus, who took it nervously. Sirius turned his head slightly and gave him a reassuring smile. 

Remus smiled in return and squeezed Sirius' hand, and got a squeeze in response. 

Those in the centre began ladling a potion into shot glasses. The shot glasses were placed in trays with a light sticking charm on them, to prevent them from falling over or sliding. 

They then began to hand the potions in the shot glasses out. 

The potion smelled like strawberries and mint, and was neon orange. 

There was only ever one potioneer who knew how to brew it, and it was written down in but one place. If the potioneer changed while the former one remained alive, he was Obliviated of all knowledge of the potion and how to make it and ingredients required, once the new potioneer was able to brew it. 

Once everyone had some, the centre was full again as they took their own shot glasses of potion and sat cross-legged on their respective cushions. 

The Chief Warlock drank his serving of the potion, and everyone followed suit. 

Children often cried afterwards, but there was a one-way silencing charm between the children and the adults. 

The potion tasted of mould and iron, with a mix of dirt and grass. Sirius and Remus, along with most others, shivered after drinking their portion of the potion. It was difficult to swallow, and even more difficult to keep down. 

After a couple of minutes, those in the centre waved their hands, and the incense lit. 

Nothing happened for a few minutes more, as the smell slowly permeated Stonehenge. 

The Chief Warlock's voice rang out, "Pick up your _sphaera appositi_ " 

Everyone picked the bronze sphere up from its bowl. 

"Get into your chosen meditative position." 

Remus stayed cross-legged, as that was the only position his joints would readily tolerate. Sirius adjusted his cushion so it was higher up, and put his legs underneath it, and sat on top of it. 

There were a few minutes of rustling and adjusting as people got comfortable. 

"Repeat after me," the Chief Warlock said, from his place in the Henge, and recited a Latin incantation a few words at a time. 

Everyone repeated what the Chief Warlock said, and with each part of the incantation they said, a rune on their ball coloured. 

There were several runes, and it seemed to last forever. But when they were finally done, the _sphaera appositi_ looked like a piece of art. 

"Close your eyes and focus on the bell tolls. Once your mind is cleared, begin to picture pulling your magick up from your toes, into your legs, into your torso, into your chest. 

ìFrom your chest into your arms, into your hands, into your fingertips, and then into the ball you hold. 

ìI will tell you when to stop." 

They all closed their eyes, and the bell somewhere in the centre began to slowly toll. This meditation lasted until a few minutes before sunset. 

The bell tolling drifted in and out of Sirius' consciousness, as he focused on filling the sphere with his magick. 

Suddenly, the Chief's voice rang out, "Open your eyes." 

Sirius didn't immediately open his eyes; he took a few slow, deep breaths to re-centre himself back into his body. 

Once everyone opened their eyes, the Chief Warlock's voice washed over them, "Repeat after me," he said, and they repeated the Latin he spoke. 

Once they were done, the balls were bright, brighter than the sun had been just an hour before. 

"Place your _sphaera appositi_ back into the bowl." 

The sound of metal hitting wood was almost overwhelming, but comforting, too. 

It rang out like chimes in the wind. 

The Chief Warlock raised his arms up above his head, "May you give your gift to the gods, and may the gods give us our gift. As I have said, so mote it be." 

Light beamed from each ball up to the sky. They all connected, making a constellation of magick. 

The light got brighter, and everyone looked away. When they looked back at it, the light was gone, and the balls looked slightly burnt. 

"Do not touch the _sphaera appositi_. You may get up and leave. You are dismissed from the grounds of Stonehenge, and may you have a healthy and happy year." He smiled at everyone as they got up and filed slowly out of the maze of stone. 

Once they got out of the Henge, they could apparate away. 

Sirius held Remus' upper arm, and Remus apparated them to Sirius' bedroom at the Potter Manor. 

They went down to the foyer to make sure everyone else got back safely, before making their way to bed. It had been a long day. 

They went to bed curled together in one-another's arms. A perfect end to an amazing day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The colours that Remus and Sirius wore were the hex codes #ED9121 and #FFD300
> 
> Child leash spell: puer manere (stay) prope (near)
> 
> Children wear brown (earth, home, outdoors, comfort, simplicity, nature
> 
> Age 15+ not in a relationship wear white (virginity, purity, etc) and green (nature, health, good luck, youth)
> 
> In relationship under 15 years long wears yellow (joy, optimisn, happiness, idealism, hope)
> 
> Couples that had been together 15-29 years wear purple (nobility, ceremony, wisdom, enlightenment) and green (nature, health, good luck, youth)
> 
> Couples that had been together 30+ years wear grey (safety, reliability, intelligence, maturity) and purple (nobility, ceremony, wisdom, enlightenment)
> 
> Widows wear black (death, grief, fear of the unknown, strength) and grey (safety, reliability, intelligence, maturity) 
> 
> Colours from [color-meanings.com](https://www.color-meanings.com/)


	2. 1982

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The June following the Potter deaths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: unhealthy coping mechanisms (excessive drinking to cope), suicidal!Remus, homeless Remus, allusions to sex work, and disordered eating (not really by choice).

It was his first Summer Solstice since _he'd_ gotten Lily and James killed. And killed Peter. 

_He_ was in Azkaban, where he belonged. 

So why did he miss him? Why did he long for Sirius? 

Remus took a deep breath and got out of bed. It was two in the morning. He went to the hostel's bathroom and looked in the mirror. 

He looked fucking awful. There were purple bruises underneath his eyes, and he looked downright sickly. His pale skin was stretched taut over his face, over his cheek and jaw bones. 

His face was littered with scars - more scar than not - but the worst was one from just a couple moons ago. it was three long claw marks, running from just to the left of his nose down to his chest. 

They weren't really scars so much as healing wounds, at this point. They were the only colour his face had. 

He refused to look down as his pale torso. His stomach was beginning to cave in, and the scars were worse there. 

Remus shook his head and looked into his eyes. They didn't look like his. His eyes weren't this devoid of life. 

He mechanically ran his fingers through his shorn hair. Once he was satisfied, he cleaned his mouth with a charm, and reached in his tattered bag for his new solstice robes. 

This was where all his money from the last few months had gone. But it'd be worth it, because he'd see Harry again. 

Remus smiled. His light. The reason he was surviving. His reason to wake up. 

He wasn't sure what colour he was supposed to be wearing, because there wasn't really a precedent for his situation. 

He decided on white with green stitching, because he was technically a single adult. 

So he put the robes on and cast a careful de-wrinkling charm on them. It didn't work as well as Mrs. Potter's, but it was his only option. 

Remus looked around the hostel and checked that he had all of his belongings. He shrunk his bag and used a sticking charm to keep it in place under his robes. 

He left the hostel and walked into an alley before disapparating to Stonehenge. 

He was a bit early, but figured he could help. He meandered around, helping various witches and wizards, until the face painting station was finished being set up. 

Remus struggled to keep his thoughts of Sirius buried deep down. 

He spent the next hour and a half painting the faces of magical children. 

He saw Dumbledore leave the Henge, having finished preparing it. Remus apologised to the other folks painting faces and dashed off. 

He approached the new Chief Warlock, and smiled. "Good morning, Professor." 

"Good morning Mr. Lupin. How are you?" he replied, looking critically at him. 

Remus ignored his question. "Where's Harry?" he asked instead. 

Dumbledore's smile fell into an almost-grimace. "You know I can't tell you that, Remus." 

"But he needs to be here for the Solstice!" Remus began, trembling. 

Dumbledore just shook his head sadly, interrupting him. "It is not safe for him to leave the safety of his home." 

"It's perfectly safe! Even You-Know-Who could never ruin a Solstice! And he's gone!" Remus shouted back. 

Dumbledore just shook his head and put a hand on one of Remus' shoulders. "I'm sorry, Remus. I have things I need to do. Have a good Solstice." He walked away from Remus. 

Remus stared after him. His legs were suddenly unable to hold him up, and he fell to the ground. Dumbledore had lied, the bastard. 

But without Harry here, there was no point in being here. He didn't need his magick, and he wasn't comfortable around all these people. Especially not knowing most of them, anymore. 

He took a deep breath and apparated to Sirius' old flat. He stole a bottle of muggle whiskey, refusing to look around. Refusing to smell Sirius' scent everywhere. His fear, his worry. 

He refused. 

And he didn't spend twenty minutes on Sirius' bed sobbing. He was a grown man, for fuck's sake. Grown men don't sob on murderer's beds, missing them. 

Remus apparated immediately to Godric's Hollow. He walked into the graveyard next to the church. He found Lily and James' graves in moments, and sat down between them. He took the top off the whiskey and took a gulp. 

He shuddered before taking another swig. 

"I'm sorry James, Lily. I should have known. I did know. But I was too in love to do anything about it. It's my fault. It's all my fault. And now you're dead, Peter's dead, and Harry is who knows where, missing the Solstice. 

_You're missing the Solstice too,_ James' voice helpfully pointed out. 

Remus rolled his eyes. "I'm not missing it, James. I left. There's a difference." He paused before continuing. "I couldn't be there without Harry. It's too much. 

"He's almost two now, you know. Of course you know. But I haven't seen him since his first birthday. Merlin, I miss him. He is probably chattering away by now, Prongs. Driving whoever he's with crazy." 

Remus took several successive drinks from the bottle in silence. "It's hard to get drunk enough to forget everything when you're a werewolf," he said, glaring at the bottle. 

_You shouldn't be trying to get drunk enough to forget everything,_ Lily's voice scolded him. 

Remus shook his head before taking another couple of drinks. "I shouldn't, Lils, but here I am. A miserable sod only alive because of a toddler he hasn't seen in almost a year. I'm so fucking pathetic, Prongs." 

Remus' frown deepened. "I can't find Harry. I know I shouldn't have tried, but I had to. He's my only reason for hanging on. I can't just- I can't just adanban- abandon him." 

Remus took a deep breath. "I'm so lonelely. Without you, I don' have a home, an' nobody wanna hire me, 'ecause I can't work the week aroun' the moon. 'M so fucked up, Jamie." Remus took several deep drinks from the bottle, shuddering. He leaned against James' gravestone. 

Remus began to sob, horrible, heart-wrenching sobs. The tears burned his eyes and made his head ache and his joints hurt, and he just wanted to die. 

He took a deep breath, then a few more deep gulps from the bottle in his hand. 

Maybe he'd just lay down with his friends and sleep for a while. 

Remus laid down between Lily and James' graves and fell asleep, into the most peaceful sleep he'd had in a very long time. 

__ 

Remus woke up to the bright sun on his face. He groaned and rolled over into... Grass? He leaned up and looked around him. 

A graveyard? He thought for a moment, before remembering where he was. 

His head was pounding and his skin was on fire. He checked the time with a quick tempus. Three in the afternoon? That meant he had been asleep almost twelve hours! 

Shit, no wonder his skin was on fire. He cast a burn soothing charm over his skin before even considering getting up. 

He felt like absolute shit. His head was throbbing, the world was spinning, the light felt like fire in his head... He sighed heavily. 

He didn't have anywhere to go, or anything to do, so he could just go back to sleep. It'd also make this day of Hell end faster. 

He shrugged and cast a notice-me-not charm on himself. He laid back down and passed right back out. 

He didn't wake up again until almost sunset. "I need to go now, but I'll return when I can." Remus said to the gravestones, rubbing a hand lightly against each of them. He carefully stood, still feeling like shit, and apparated away to Knockturn Alley. 

With any kind of luck, he'd make some money tonight. He'd been without food for too long, and desperately needed it. He didn't deserve it, but Harry deserved him, so he had to eat to stay alive for Harry. 

So he had to make money. 

Remus took a deep breath before changing his clothes for work. It was going to be a long night. 


	3. 1992

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of _Philosopher's Stone_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry has glamours on.
> 
> TRIGGER WARNINGS: allusions to child abuse (Harry and Sirius) and neglect (Harry).

It would have been their fifteenth year as a couple, this year. Remus had been thinking about it for months. 

He knew Harry would be at the Solstice Celebrations, so he decided to go. He knew he couldn't approach him, but... It had been almost ten years since he'd since him. He couldn't not see him, not now that he finally had the chance. 

He hadn't been to any Solstice Celebrations since the year following James and Lily's deaths, and was afraid things had changed. But he didn't want anyone knowing he was coming, so he asked the only person he could trust to keep a secret - McGonagall. 

She had been excited to see him, and asked him to tea beforehand. He politely declined. Now that he was older, it took him longer to recover from moons, and he often had to work through his recovery period, so it was even longer. 

It was a miserable cycle, but Remus had to survive. For Harry. 

Nothing had changed though, thankfully. So Remus just got out the robes he had worn back in '82. He had to adjust the fit, because he'd lost the fat around his hips and shoulders. 

A place to lock himself up for the moons was the priority, not food. 

Remus put the robes on slowly, his joints rebelling use that early. They were still a little loose on him, but he thought they looked okay. 

He de-wrinkled them and ran his hands through his hair. Even if Harry wasn't likely to see him, in case he did, he wanted to make the best impression. It was unlikely he remembered Remus, after all. He hoped Harry would remember him, of course. But realistically, he knew it was unlikely. 

He spent his time cleaning his mouth and hands thoroughly. 

An hour before the ceremony was set to begin, Remus apparated to the grounds of Stonehenge. 

It was busier than normal this year, perhaps because they, too, thought their Saviour would be there. Remus scoffed. That was all Lily. 

_And you, Remus,_ Lily's voice reminded him. He nodded to himself. He did help with the research and testing. 

It got easier in to deal with his and Sirius' history, it seemed. He had been living in a blur, for the most part, so he hadn't really noticed. But being there didn't make his heart ache like it used to. 

He made his way to the face painting booth, where Molly Prewett was painting the face of a young redhead. 

"Prewett! Long time no see." Remus smiled at her as he sat down. 

"Actually, it's Weasley now," She said absentmindedly, before looking up. The rune she had been painting was ruined as her hand twitched upon seeing him. 

She cursed quietly. " _Scourgify,_ " she said, spelling the child's face clean. 

"Mu-um" the child whined. 

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. Lupin, this is my son, Ronald. Ronald, this is," she paused, considering, "Well, we weren't exactly friends at school, but we knew one-another. His name is Remus Lupin."

Remus smiled at Ronald, who just rolled his eyes. "Harry, save me. I'm being killed by my own mother." He dramatically swooned, hand to his damp head. 

Harry laughed, until he realised Ron had smudged the first rune his mother had done. Then he just grimaced. 

Remus looked at Harry. He looked almost exactly like Lily had at his age. He had dark red-orange hair, and hazel eyes. His hair was long; it was braided in the traditional way, and had some flowers woven into it. 

Remus held his hand out formally. "Remus Lupin. It's nice to meet you." 

Harry shook Remus' hand gently. "Harry- er, Dursley. It's nice to meet you too, sir." 

Remus nodded and decided to think later, and just experience for the time being. 

"I'm here to help you paint the children," Remus said, taking a seat next to Molly. He picked up a palette and gestured Harry over to him. 

They made small talk as Remus painted, and it was the best small talk Remus had ever made. 

He found out Harry's favourite colour was red, and favourite class was Charms (only after Remus told him no, Quidditch doesn't count as a class). He also found out Snivellus was teaching Potions, and treating his students poorly. 

But Remus kept his calm. It was important not to scare Harry. 

Harry wanted to be a professional Quidditch player. A seeker, to be precise. Just like Sirius was. For a couple years, anyway. 

And there it was. The pain of losing someone not to death, but to the Dark. It was worse than losing them to death, if you asked him. 

When Remus asked Harry what he wanted on his last cheek, he took but moments to decide on a Gryffindor Lion. Remus just laughed. Like father, like son. 

When asked about his friends, Harry told him Ron was his best friend, but he had a muggleborn friend named Hermione too. 

He went on to talk about Quidditch until the lion was done, complete with a Gryffindor flag waving gently in the background. 

Remus gave Harry a hand mirror to see what it looked like. He gasped. 

"This is amazing, sir! Thank you!" He was smiling ear to ear. 

"Hang on Harry," Molly said before he could run away, "Mr. Lupin here needs to dry and seal the paint so it doesnít wear off too quickly." 

"Oh. Okay. Sorry, sir." Harry came back to stand in front of Remus. 

"It's perfectly alright," Remus said. "This might itch a little, but don't touch your face until I say the other spell, okay?" 

Remus waited until Harry nodded before drying his face. His hands twitched upwards, but he resisted. Remus quickly cast the sealing charm. 

Harry sighed in relief. "Thank you. May I go with Ron now?" He glanced anxiously to Molly's son. 

Remus nodded, and he ran off. As soon as he was out of hearing range, Remus heaved a huge sigh. 

He started on the next child, and got into a pattern of asking questions and painting. 

When the line was empty for a few minutes, Molly turned to him. "Where have you been? Everyone says you fell off the face of the Earth," Molly said. 

Remus grimaced. "Those who need to know, know how to find me." 

"Why didn't you take Harry in?" 

Remus shook his head. "Dumbledore wouldn't let me." He didn't tell her he was out of the country for a while after James and Lily's deaths, and he didn't find out until the day before the funeral. By then, Harry had already been placed with others, and Dumbledore refused to say where. 

He took a deep breath. "It's so wonderful to see him. Although I didn't expect his hair to be so red, or his eyes to be hazel." 

Molly chuckled. "I gave him a few glamours, to try to protect him." 

"Why didn't Dumbledore?" he asked, confused. 

" _Dumbledore,_ " she drew his name out, irritated, "didn't want him to come. My husband and I 'borrowed' Harry for a few days so he could participate. I can't imagine what his magic was like without the ceremony to strengthen it." 

Remus smiled. "You, Molly Prewett--" he paused before correcting himself, " _Weasley_ \-- are the best. Thank you." 

Molly shook her head. "It's nothing, really." 

Remus nodded, and decided then that he'd have to find a way to pay her back. Maybe he'd use some of the money James and Lily had given him in their will. 

He used as little as theyíd given him as possible, because it wasn't his, not really. It was Harry's. But he knew James and Lily would want to pay Molly back for this. 

A horde of children made their way towards them, and they gave their brushes a quick cleaning before they got there. 

They were busy for the next while, until the bell chimed, signalling five minutes before sunrise began. 

Several adults swiftly made their way over to help them make it through the horde before the ceremony began. 

They finished with only sixty seconds to spare. The adults and the last few children rushed to the Henge. 

Remus was between a toddler and a redhead close to Harry's age. He smiled at the redhead before turning his back to her, and waved to the toddler. 

The toddler waved back as Dumbledore said, "Places, everybody." 

Not ten seconds after that, the music began. Remus began the familiar walk around while those in the middle ring did their dance, and those in the centre did their... Whatever the name was for what they did. He couldn't remember it; it had been years since he cared. 

Within the first five minutes, the toddler fell. Remus immediately bent over, ignoring his creaking back, and picked them up. He kept walking and soothed the child. 

Within another couple minutes, they were ready to walk on their own again. 

In another few minutes, though, the child tired, and Remus summoned a floating carrier to put them in. They floated along with the outer ring, and Remus kept them occupied so they were not disruptive to the ceremony going on that Remus was surely missing. 

After what seemed like ages, a bright light rose up from the centre ring and exploded across the sky, further than even Remus could see. 

Once those in the middle ring stopped dancing, he stopped the carrier and took the toddler out. 

The middle ring bowed to their partners, and he turned to the centre ring and bowed to them, making sure the toddler followed suit (they did). 

Magick flowed through him for the first time in years, and he sneezed into his elbow. The toddler shuddered and began to tear up. 

Remus picked them up and bounced them side to side slightly to calm them. 

He knew he couldn't speak, but boy did he want to. He heaved a great sigh, although he felt better than he had in years. 

He looked around him properly for the first time since the ceremony began. Many of the people in the middle ring were Death Eaters. Former. Former Death Eaters. 

Remus did his best to quiet his gasp. You-Know-Who was gone. It was okay. Harry was safe. 

For the first time, he was able to see Harry when he reassured himself of his safety. Remus breathed a sigh of relief. 

"You may now leave the Henge, but please remain on the grounds," Dumbledore said, waving his arms at the booths as they appeared before them. 

Remus waited next to the toddler until a couple he wasn't familiar with came up to him, and the toddler ran to their parents. 

One of them picked the child up, and then they both looked to Remus expectantly. 

It took Remus a moment to remember what they were waiting for. "Oh, they were fine. A perfect angel," he said with a smile on his face. 

"Oh thank Merlin. We had such an issue last year. I'm glad she was good. Thank you, sir." The one holding the child said. 

Remus shook his head. "It wasn't a problem. Please excuse me, I need to go find someone." He gave a faint smile before dashing off. 

Not ten feet away from the Henge he was accosted by McGonagall, whose robes were grey with black stitching. 

Remus frowned. When did her husband die? 

McGonagall smiled. "Remus, it's lovely to see you. Accompany me for breakfast?" she asked him, holding her arm out to him. 

He couldn't help the way his lips twitched upward, and took her arm in his. 

It took them over an hour to get their food, most of which they remained silent. Anything that needed to be said couldn't be heard by others. 

Once they made it to a small table, McGonagall put up a strong silencing spell. She turned to Remus, lips downturned and eyebrows furrowed. 

"No owls, no floo calls, not even a muggle letter! What were you thinking? I thought the worst, you know." 

Remus flushed and looked away. "I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't think--" 

"No, you didn't. I fully expect you to write monthly. I want to hear from you." The stern professor left no room for argument. 

It went unsaid that she _needed_ to hear from him. 

Remus put his offerings on the plate. "I'm sorry for your loss," he mumbled, "I had no idea." 

McGonagall pressed her lips together. "He died in '85. It's been hard." 

Remus nodded. He understood. He still had days where he mourned the loss of Sirius. The days of mourning for Peter, James, and Lily were few and far between, however. 

He took a deep breath, before digging into his breakfast. 

While Minerva put her offerings on the plate, she said, "You look awful." 

Blunt as always. Remus smiled and shrugged. "I feel okay." He was making an effort to not inhale his food, but he was _so hungry._

He didn't think he was succeeding. 

"He's a brilliant student," McGonagall said after a few minutes of silent eating. "A real natural in Charms, and he's a good Transfiguration student." 

Remus looked up to McGonagall. "Harry?" 

She nodded. "He's gotten into adventures the Marauders would be jealous of." 

Remus raised his eyebrows in disbelief. 

"He managed to knock a troll out in the girl's lavatory in October, with the help of his friend Ronald Weasley. Then just a week ago, he managed to get through a series of traps set by each of the professors to get the Philosopher's Stone, with his friends Hermione Granger and Ronald. And faced You-Know-Who alone in the process, and bested him." 

Remus' fork stopped part-way to his mouth, and he stared at McGonagall in silence. 

She flashed him a smile. "I know. It's quite impressive. But the Marauders always were, too. I know where he gets it from." 

"No, no, You-Know-Who? Is back?" 

McGonagall grimaced. "I don't think he was ever really gone. Dumbledore certainly didn't believe it." 

"And he didn't think it was important enough to _tell me?_ " Remus shouted, enraged. 

McGonagall remained impassive. "He didn't tell me either, Remus," she said quietly. 

Remus deflated. "I'm sorry, Professor. I shouldn't have shouted at you." 

McGonagall accepted his apology, and told Remus everything she knew about both You-Know-Who and Harry, except where the latter lived. 

Remus knew, anyway, because Harry introduced himself as a Dursley. He was supremely upset. 

The morning passed quickly, and after lunch, Remus forwent a nap in favour of watching Harry participate in _Pila n'angere._

Harry was a natural, but he was very confused. Remus thought that perhaps someone hadn't explained you were supposed to use wandless magic. 

Harry got out after about two minutes of intense play, when he caught the ball for some reason. 

He didn't seem to mind, because he was chatting with a redhead next to him. Not Ronald, though. He didn't know who that was. But he looked happy, so Remus was happy, too. 

The game ended when the side opposite Harry's won, and only a redhead was left standing. Why were there so many redheads? He shook his head and got up to go take a power nap before the evening's festivities. 

He was woken up right about dinnertime by his alarm. He grabbed his food and sat down at an empty table shrouded in dark shade. 

He ate in silence, absorbing the world around him. It was so different from when he and Sirius were here last. It was more upbeat - more cheerful. 

There were also more people. More children and more young adults. 

He hadn't noticed it then, but looking back, the adults had been pretty subdued during the Solstice Ceremonies, growing up. But it had seemed normal to him. Now, though... Everyone was so much more carefree, and there were far fewer scared adults. It was a relief. 

He briefly wondered what Sirius would say, but pushed it out of his mind. Today was not about Sirius. It was about Harry. 

Which brought a whole new problem. 

The last place Lily had wanted her son to end up was with her hateful, spiteful sister and her horrendous jerk of a husband. 

Harry was thin. Far too thin. And he could smell healing wounds under Harry's clothes. Of course, he was a Potter, so he very well could have fallen a few times. He knew James was always falling at school, so he wouldn't be surprised. 

But the way he reacted to attention was... Worrying. He seemed far more on-edge when there was attention on him. Like it was dangerous to be seen. 

He'd stop by the Dursley's tonight, if he could remember where they lived. Or would that make it worse? 

Remus groaned and laid his head on his arms. When Sirius' parents had found out that other people knew... It had been bad. Really bad. And he hadn't gotten away from them for another few years. 

Maybe it'd be better to do nothing. Or maybe he could get Harry food secretly... He would have to talk to McGonagall; she would know. 

Remus continued thinking about Harry, and how he had to introduce himself to someone he vowed to help co-parent. He heaved a huge sigh. Why did You-Know-Who have to ruin everything? 

Someone sat down at his table, and his head jerked up, startled. It was only McGonagall. Thank gods. He'd never hear the end of it if it was anyone else. 

Wait. They were dead; he'd certainly never hear them again. Remus heaved another great sigh. 

"Are you going to participate in the game after dinner?" McGonagall asked, voice low. 

Remus shook his head. "No, I'm not. I am bone tired. I don't have the energy for it." 

McGonagall nodded. "This would have been you and Sirius' fifteenth year together, wouldn't it?" she asked innocently. 

Remus looked away, ashamed. "Yes," he whispered. 

"It's okay to be sad, Remus. This was supposed to be an important milestone in your life. And it was taken away from you. You don't have to be stoic about this." She took Remus' hand in hers. "You aren't alone. Not ever, not while I'm around." 

Remus' eyes began to fill with tears, and he tried to blink them away. He only succeeded in making them fall from his eyes onto his cheeks. 

McGonagall was suddenly next to him, enveloping him in her arms. He felt comforted for the first time in almost a decade. He broke down; shattered. 

He sobbed into her shoulder, shuddering with the force of his sobs. He felt like a child again, the day before the full moon; not understanding why his life was the way it was. Crying into his mother's shoulder, choking out "Why?" any time he had enough breath in his lungs to ask. 

McGonagall just held him tighter and murmured, "I don't know, but they didn't deserve it. You don't deserve this," over and over again. 

It took a while for Remus to regain control over himself. When he did, he quickly cleaned McGonagall's robes. He was hiccupping with the aftermath of the sobs, and his head felt full of cotton. 

McGonagall handed him a handkerchief, which he took, grateful. He blew his nose a few times, cleaning it between blows, and the wiped his face. He cleaned it once more before handing it back to its owner. 

"Thank you," Remus said, then, "I'm sorry." 

McGonagall just shook her head. "It's okay, Remus. You needed comfort. Anyone with any maternal instincts in them could see that." She gave him a half-smile. "It's almost time for _Pila n'angere_ , if you want to watch that with me." 

Remus shook his head. "No thank you. I'm going to go wash up before the evening ceremony." 

McGonagall nodded, getting up. "I'll see you then," she said, giving Remus a smile. "I fully expect letters monthly from here on out, Lupin." 

Remus gave her a small smile. "Yes ma'am," he said, getting up himself and heading to the water closets. 

Remus scrubbed his face until he was presentable. His eyes were still bloodshot, and he felt like shit, but what else was new? 

He headed to the grassy knoll on the opposite side of the grounds to the Henge. It was where he and Sirius liked to nap in the afternoons. He laid down and relaxed, thinking about Sirius and trying not to feel guilty about it. 

The five minute bell tolled, jerking Remus out of his thoughts. He slowly got up, joints popping and protesting the whole way. He cast a cleaning and de-wrinkling charm on his clothes before heading to the Henge. 

It took Remus several minutes to get to the Henge, and just as he entered it, Dumbledore's voice washed over the grounds, telling everyone to get into their places. 

Remus looked around as he sat down cross-legged on his cushion. The stones making up the Henge had runes written in the stone, and had been put there by hand when the Henge was originally erected thousands of years ago. 

They were easy to miss, usually. But for tonight's ceremony, each rune was painted with specially made paint, imbued with magickal plants and energy. Each rune was a specific colour for a specific reason. The reasons were arcane, now, but he was sure somebody knew. 

Each place in the three rings inside the stones had a meditation cushion on it that could be adjusted to almost any height. His had wolves along the hem of the pillow; the Lupin family insignia. 

In front of every cushion was a small dark wood bowl with an offering ball in it, and there was an incense bowl every few people. 

A dark witch wearing a royal purple hijab and light green cap beneath it approached him. She smiled and handed him a shot glass with tonight's potion in it. It was the first part of tonight's ceremony. 

She moved on, handing a shot glass of potion to everyone she passed. 

The potion was neon orange, and smelled of strawberries and mint. 

Harry was on the other side of the Henge, looking at his cushion in wonderment. It had the Potter lion on it, and Remus was sure Ron had already told him they were made by each family as soon as the child showed magical abilities. 

Harry was reverently stroking the cushion underneath him, looking overwhelmed. 

Remus' eyes were drawn to the Chief Warlock, who raised his shot glass. Once he had gotten everyone's attention, he downed his potion. Everyone followed suit. 

Remus shuddered. The potion tasted horrible, like mould and blood, and like the ground. 

The child next to him began crying at the taste, and he immediately reached a hand out to the child, to comfort them. The child took his hand and held it tight, but stopped crying. Remus gave them a thumbs up and a small smile. 

They were given a few minutes to soothe the children, to ensure they'd be ready for the next part. 

Once every child was soothed, Dumbledore spoke, "Pick up your _sphaera appositi._ " 

Everyone picked up the cool bronze sphere radiating pure magickal energy. It was the size of a golf ball, and had engraved runes all over it, each with Latin etched into the engraving. 

"Get into your chosen meditative position." 

Remus stayed cross-legged, since his joints had only gotten worse since the last time he did this. Other people adjusted their cushion's height so they were kneeling, almost, but their weight was on their rear. 

Harry just looked confused, poor bloke, and tried adjusting his cushion. He ended up more on ankles than butt, however. 

Ronald helped him get into a comfortable position. After this was over, Remus really needed to remember to send the Weasleys a gift. 

After everyone had settled, the Chief Warlock spoke again. "Repeat after me," he said, and then began reciting a Latin incantation a few words at a time. 

Everyone repeated after him, and with each complete phrase, a rune on the ball they each held changed colour. 

There were several runes, and repeating the Latin always seemed to last forever. Luckily, it didn't. 

He looked down at the _sphaera appositi_ in his hand. It looked like a piece of art. He remembered thinking that before, but it really did. 

"Close your eyes and focus on the bell tolls. Once your mind is cleared, begin to picture pulling your magick up from your toes, into your legs, into your torso, into your chest. 

"From your chest into your arms, into your hands, into your fingertips, and then into the ball you hold. 

"I will tell you when to stop." 

Everyone closed their eyes, and somewhere towards the centre of the Henge, a bell began to toll, slowly and steadily. The heartbeats around him began to slow, and with it, his. 

Remus focused on bringing his magic up from his toes and into his fingertips. He continued slowly siphoning his magick into the sphere. The more magick he put into the ball, the warmer it got. It never burned him, though, even when he thought it probably should. 

The meditation lasted until a few minutes before sunset, when the bell stopped tolling and Dumbledore's voice boomed out over the grounds. "Open your eyes." 

It took Remus a few moments to open his eyes. He had to consciously stop his magick from leaving his body. When he opened them, Dumbledore continued. 

"Repeat after me," he said, before speaking more Latin. They all repeated what he said. 

Once they were done, the spheres glowed brighter than anything he'd experienced. He closed his eyes again against the brightness. 

"Place your _sphaera appositi_ back into the bowl," Dumbledore said, before following his own instructions. 

Only the sound of metal hitting wood could be heard, and it was more painful than Remus remembered. He instinctively wanted to cover his ears, but refrained. 

Dumbledore raised his arms above his head before saying, "May you give your gift to the gods, and may the gods give us our gift. As I have said, so mote it be." 

Light from each ball beamed into the sky, connecting to the lights around it, making a beautiful pattern with the magick from them all. 

The light got brighter, and everyone looked away. After just a couple moments, the light was gone, and the sun was down. It wasn't fully dark just yet, but after seeing such brightness, it was as good as the middle of the night, for all that he could see. 

"Do not touch the _sphaera appositi_. You can leave, but leave your cushions behind. They will be here for you next year. 

"You are dismissed from the grounds of Stonehenge, and may you have a healthy and happy year." Dumbledore smiled as he looked around the Henge. 

Nearly everyone clamoured to get up at once, but a few smarter witches and wizards stayed seated, waiting for the crowd to thin before even bothering to get up. He was not one of them. 

Remus saw Molly Weasley and the man he presumed was her husband in the middle ring, with a couple of other couples. 

A girl with dirty blonde hair approached him. "It was the rat who destroyed the world. Forgive your mate," she said dreamily, before walking away. 

She must have been Pandora's daughter, with that manner of speaking. Where was Pandora, anyway? 

He looked around the middle ring, and then the outer ring, and saw- oh no. Xenophilius Lovegood was wearing a widower's robes; black with silver embellishments. 

Remus frowned, watching Pandora's daughter make her way to Lovegood before becoming lost in the crowd. 

Wait, what did she say?! 

Remus was startled out of his thoughts by a hand on his arm. He looked up and saw the Chief Warlock himself in front of him. 

Remus scowled. "Yes, Professor?" He really hated using Occlumency, but around Dumbledore, it was necessary. Meddling dick. 

He let that thought through, and Dumbledore's face turned sad. And oh, no, he was not being manipulated to do his dirty work. Not again. 

"Please excuse me, I have someplace I need to be," Remus said before rushing into the thinning crowd. Once he was free of the Henge itself, he apparated away. 

He had a lot to think about, but first, sleep. He had been up for twenty hours, and wasn't thinking straight. Or at all. He automatically apparated into Sirius' flat. 

His half-closed eyes snapped open when the smell of Sirius (and dust) surrounded him. 

He knew there were important things he had to think about, but his body was just not having it. Nor was it letting him consider going someplace else. So he curled up on Sirius' couch and fell asleep. 

And if he dreamt of loving his mate properly for the first time in years instead of hexing him, well, who would know? 

And if he woke up in the morning heartbroken and alone, and he let himself cry for a while, well. He was alone.


	4. 1998

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The month following the Final Battle (about six weeks later).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNING: symptoms of PTSD (agoraphobia, co-dependency, panic attack), strong allusions to sex, but nothing explicit.

Now that statements had been made and Sirius had gotten an official trial, he could finally experience the Solstice ceremonies again. It had been seventeen years since he had been able to participate. 

Merlin, was he really that old? He did the math in his head, and _shit_ he was old. Thirty-nine. Wow. 

But, this time Voldemort was dead. Well and truly. 

He had been unable to sleep, and had convinced Narcissa to help him do his hair in the traditional plaits. 

His deep black-brown hair now had plenty of grey and silver streaks in it, but he accepted it with pride. He pretended to, anyway. 

Harry, who was acting Chief Warlock, had helped to get Narcissa and her son off of Death Row. 

Sirius thought both had been easier than convincing the Wizarding Public that he himself was an innocent man, but who was he to complain? He was free now, and that was all that mattered. 

He tried to let Remus sleep as long as he could. Merlin knew he needed it. He had only been officially acquitted of being a Death Eater and killing Peter a couple days prior, and he and Remus were... Busy. Until rather late. 

He didn't need sleep, not now anyway. He could always nap later. But he was awake now, so he might as well get ready. 

They were in his old flat, and the windows were wide open, letting the warm summer air swirl around in the magical breeze. 

Finally, _finally_ , it was time to wake Remus. 

Sirius crept to the bed and began peppering Remus' scarred face with gentle kisses. His kisses gradually got less and less gentle, until Remus hummed happily and pulled Sirius closer to him. 

The two kissed, over and over, still relieved it was over and Sirius was free, until Sirius pulled away. "I waited as long as I could, but it's time to wake up and get ready. I'll make a small breakfast while you shower." 

Remus' sleepy smile turned into a very much awake grin. 

He sat up with a groan, and Sirius could hear Remus' back popping the whole way. He grimaced; that had to hurt. 

Remus waved Sirius' concerned look away, before getting up and heading to the bathroom. Sirius nodded and started on toasting the bread and cooking the bacon. 

Remus came out of the shower with naught but a small towel around his waist, and Sirius very nearly got distracted from his sandwich assembly. 

"Sirius, will you please help me with fastening my robes?" Remus asked as he entered their room. 

_Their room!_

Sirius cut the sandwiches in half with a satisfying _crunch_ before washing his hands thoroughly. It wouldn't do, after all, for Remus' robes to get stained before the ceremony even began. 

After? Well, he couldn't control that. 

Sirius dried his hands on a hand towel next to the kitchen sink, taking it with him as he entered their room, where Remus had on his robes, open at the front. 

Sirius gave him a genuine smile, before thanking him. "I am so glad you asked for help instead of struggling first. Thank you, Moony." 

Remus' face darkened in embarrassment, but he nodded, lifting his arms slightly so Sirius had better access to the clasps. 

Sirius gently did up the sunflower yellow robes. They were old-fashioned, but not so old-fashioned as to have lace or any superfluous, disgusting additions. Just his family insignia along the hem. 

Sirius was already wearing his carrot orange leggings, but he'd been wearing an old black set of robes to cook the bacon. Once he was sure Remus was happy with his clasping, he put his own yellow tunic on. 

Remus began to laugh upon seeing the hem. He doubled over, trying to speak but not getting out more than the occasional sputter. 

He had gotten official notices of being accepted as part of three different Houses, two of which were Noble, within a few days of each other. 

He hadn't been sure what he was supposed to have on the hems, since he was still _technically_ a Black, but being blasted off the Tapestry... He wasn't sure. And he was never _technically_ adopted by the Potters, and he had yet to _technically_ marry Remus... 

Instead of just the one insignia, his hem had alternating lions, wolves, and King Cobras with their hoods out. 

Draco had sent the official notice from the Black family, Harry had sent the one from the Potter family, and Remus had sent the one from the Lupin family. Sirius smiled widely, feeling more loved than he had in decades. 

Okay, that thought didn't _seem_ happy, but after feeling unloved for nearly all of the last two decades, to feel so loved and accepted... He was happier than he could contain. He felt like he did the first time Remus said "I love you," or the first time Euphemia called him her son. 

His smiled broadened. He was finally formally accepted as a Potter. 

Sirius shook his head and looked at Remus, who was watching him with wide, confused eyes and a small, but very genuine, smile. 

Things had been difficult, but since he'd been able to get out of his childhood home, some of the more... _Dangerous_ symptoms had gone away. 

But today was about a new start, and happiness, and joy. So he stood up, helping Remus back up from the bed too. They made their way to the kitchen touching from shoulders to hips. 

Remus gingerly sat down and floated his plate over from the counter. He looked at it incredulously. 

"A BLT? Sirius, that's not a breakfast food." Remus took a bite immediately after, and gave an approving nod before realising and shooting a semi-fake glare his way. 

Sirius put on an offended look. "It has bacon, toast, and tomatoes. Sounds like breakfast to me." 

Remus paused mid-bite, staring at Sirius with a blank look on his face, blinking slowly. Sirius was scared he did something wrong, and prepared for the blow he knew wouldn't come but thought would anyway. 

Then Remus began laughing again. No, not laughing. _Cackling._ His head rested on his arms on the table, sandwich off to the side, and his shoulders were shaking viciously. 

Sirius didn't move, still frightened. He waited until Remus laughed himself out. When Remus lifted his head, there were tear streaks down his face, but a giant grin showed his joy. 

"You're just as ridiculous as I remember. But you're not wrong, so I can't even pretend to be mad," Remus said, chuckling intermittently. 

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief and took his seat at the table, munching on his sandwich. It wasn't half-bad. It was only about half _good_ , but he was proud of it. 

They ate in relative silence. When they were finished, Remus cleaned the crumbs off their clothes with a soft _swish_ of his wand. 

"Time to go?" Remus asked, glancing at the clock on the wall. 

Sirius nodded before asking, "Can you apparate us? I'm not confident that I can." 

Remus smiled as he stood, giving Sirius a hug once he was close enough. "I'm so proud of you for admitting that." 

Sirius felt small. He nodded. Remus took his arm and apparated them to the grounds of Stonehenge, which was gorgeous. 

Remus had been every year since 1992, so he was accustomed to its beauty. Sirius, on the other hand, was not. His mouth gaped open. 

"This is..." Sirius paused, fishing for words. "This is _beautiful!_ " 

Remus nodded, before agreeing, "It really is. But not as beautiful as you." He made a show of checking Sirius out. 

Sirius flushed and gifted Remus with a grin. 

Sirius took Remus' hand, and they walked together through the grounds, looking at and absorbing the happiness surrounding them. 

There were flowers everywhere. Lilies and daisies, chicory and baby's breath, and so many others they couldn't identify, in every colour. The scent of flowers blooming was heavy in the air. 

Once they reached the face painting station, the two of them sat down heavily. Sirius hadn't been outside much, so all this walking was tiring, and Remus was in pain from being up so early. 

Molly Weasley turned to look at them, displeasure clear on her face. She glanced at their clothes and her eyebrows shot up in surprise, then down again in confusion. 

"Who are you dating, Remus?" she asked, clearly misunderstanding the situation. 

Remus sighed, irritated. "I'm dating Sirius," he said, and punctuated it with a gentle kiss to Sirius' hand, still in his. 

Sirius grinned the goofy grin he always had when Remus was sappy. 

"What? But you... You're straight!" 

Sirius snorted and, while tempted to tell her how wrong she was, he knew he'd never hear the end of it. And there were small children around. He could show self-control around children. 

Remus sighed again. "No, Molly I'm not. As I've already told you several times, I'm bisexual." 

Molly shook her head. "But you dated Nymphadora!" 

"No," Remus paused, gathering strength to not leap up and rip her throat out. "I _slept_ with _Tonks_. That doesn't mean I'm straight. I am bisexual, Molly. We've already been over this. 

"And, for the record, Sirius and I were already dating again when I slept with Tonks." 

At Molly's confused look, Sirius elaborated, "Remus and I are not in a monogamous relationship. Remus and I discussed it, and decided it wouldn't hurt our relationship for him to sleep with my cousin. So he approached Tonks, and explained that it would probably be a one-time thing, but even if it wasn't, their relationship would be purely sexual. Tonks is also aware Remus and I are together. 

"Can we get to painting these kids' faces now?" Remus asked impatiently. 

Molly blinked, shaking her head, then looked at the growing line of children. She nodded, silenced. 

The three of them worked in silence, although Sirius' presence upset several children. Some of them didn't know he was about as dangerous as a puppy. 

So instead of painting, he ran off behind some empty tables and came back as Padfoot. 

That seemed to make the children immensely happy. 

He distracted the more fidgety children by letting them pet him, and he played fetch while some children waited for their siblings to get their faces painted. 

Remus tried not to get too distracted, seeing Padfoot so happy and energetic. 

He had been looking better to begin with, after being away from Grimmauld Place for a few months, and his hair was beginning to shine again. 

But playing like this, he looked almost like his old self. Not quite, because he was still too thin, and his hair was going grey, but he looked great. 

Interacting with the children like that, though, made him happier than even Remus could, a lot of the time. 

Well, Tonks _was_ pregnant, so maybe that would help Sirius, too. Sirius was thrilled but terrified. Not as terrified as Remus had been, but luckily Sirius had been there to remind him everything would be okay, and he hadn't run away like he'd wanted to. 

"Mister, are you gonna paint my face?" a young child asked Remus, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

"Yes. I'm sorry; just got a bit lost in my thoughts," Remus said to them, dipping a clean paintbrush into the special paint. 

The time passed quickly, between ignoring Molly's looks, painting the faces of children, and watching Padfoot interact with everyone. Suddenly, the five minute warning bell tolled. 

Remus jumped, smearing a line across the poor kid's face. He apologised profusely and cleaned it off, before redoing the paint. 

Sirius sat down next to Remus, and picked his paintbrush up, cleaning it wordlessly with a wave. 

Several other adults came over to help, and the last handful of children were painted quickly. 

"Take your places, please." Harry's voice echoed across the busy grounds. 

Everyone got up, dropping their paintbrushes and palettes, rushing to the Henge. 

Sirius and Remus stood next to each other in the middle ring. Sirius reached his hand out, and Remus took it immediately. 

The music began as the sunrise did. Sirius shivered from the intense magick. After having been in a magical Faraday Cage for over a decade, feeling this much magick was... Intense. 

Yes, intense was a good word, for the magick enveloping him and absorbing into him, healing wounds he hadn't known were there. It felt like jumping into a cool river and drinking cold water on a hot day. Absolute relief. 

Sirius and Remus bowed to one another, spun, and pecked each other's cheek. Then Sirius walked gracefully over to the space on Remus' other side, facing away from him. 

Sirius danced with a Veela, while Remus danced with a blonde-haired woman he didn't recognise. 

Sirius enjoyed himself, dancing with several Weasleys, many strangers, and a few classmates. It was a fun event, and it required far less concentration than he expected; it seemed his body remembered how to do it, even if his brain didn't. 

Remus had it a bit more awkward. He danced with Molly Weasley, who looked visibly unhappy with him, and Bill... Well, dancing with Bill was awkward. Remus was afraid Bill blamed him for his scars, and Bill was afraid Remus was upset with him for not being Turned. 

Neither were right, but they didn't know that. 

Remus also found it awkward to dance with George, because Remus was the one who had been unable to at least slow down Fred's killer. But George was smiling, and didn't appear to be mad at him, so he tried to be okay with it. 

He felt much better when he and Sirius made it back to one another. He wasn't co-dependant on Sirius, but he felt much better when he was nearby. 

His mood improved greatly when he saw Sirius, flushed from laughter, smiling unabashed, many of the shorter hairs loose from his plait. Remus smiled in response as he and Sirius completed the dance together as light filled the sky. 

Remus and Sirius bowed to one another, then turned to bow to those in the centre. 

Sirius shuddered as magick washed over him again, and Remus sneezed. They leaned against each other, exuding happiness, as they waited for the Chief Warlock to dismiss them. 

In that moment, they didn't think they could ever feel more loved. They were wrong, but they wouldn't know it until their baby was born. 

Remus and Sirius both looked dazed, but happy. Their eyes were bright with happiness, and nobody could imagine them apart. 

Harry's voice finally boomed across the grounds. "Dismissed." 

Booths appeared around the grounds, and everyone began talking at once while trying to get to the breakfast line first. Everyone except Remus and Sirius, who just murmured, "I love you" before fully embracing one another. 

It felt so good to be able to experience this together for the first time in far too long. 

It wasn't until Harry approached them that they snapped out of it. They were alone in the Henge, except for Harry. 

"Instead of standing there trying to become one, why don't you eat first, so you can do it properly?" Harry asked shamelessly. 

"Harry!" Remus said, aghast. Remus' face was red. 

Sirius just started laughing, and he clapped Harry on the shoulder. "Brilliant idea, Prongslet. I think we'll do just that." Sirius leaned in to whisper into Harry's ear, "Do you have any suggestions for where we can go after we eat?" 

Harry just leveled a look at Sirius that said, _Are you fucking kidding me?_

After a few moments of silence, Harry sighed. "You're a wizard, Sirius. Make a tent and put a silencing charm up, and a locking charm on the doors. Make yourselves invisible and put a silencing bubble around you. I don't care! Just make sure you don't leave the grounds and nobody sees you naked. Especially not me. _Please._ I've seen enough old people naked in my life. I'm good." 

Sirius gasped, horrified. "I'm not old, Harry James Potter, you take that back!" 

Remus bit his lower lip to keep himself from laughing. 

"Padfoot, you're over _two hundred fifty years old_. It doesn't get much older than that!" Harry said, grinning. 

Sirius' mouth dropped, "You want to see if this _old dog_ can tear you pieces?" he threatened jokingly, before morphing into his dog form. 

Harry's eyes widened as he grinned, turning and running out of the Henge. Sirius followed hot on his tail. Metaphorically. 

Remus rolled his eyes, finally able to release the laughter he'd held back. His grin was huge as he took off after the two of them. He wasn't worried about them hurting each other, but he _was_ worried about people hurting Padfoot, misunderstanding the situation. 

He dropped a sickle on the popcorn booth as he dashed by, picking up a box of popcorn. 

Remus was right; people were misinterpreting what was going on. He had to shield both Harry and Padfoot, the former of whom would have been dragged away to keep him away from Padfoot, and the latter of whom would have been injured. 

Once he put up a travelling shield for both Harry and Sirius, Remus could conjure a comfortable chair and eat popcorn while they played. 

Harry's face reddened as he ran, and his smile widened when he saw Remus comfortably watching them. Sirius wouldn't be able to run for as long as he could when he'd been Harry's age, but it was still good for Sirius to be able to run around like this. He was happy. 

Padfoot chased Harry around the grounds, eventually chasing him up a tree. He stood on his hind legs, with his large front paws considerably closer to Harry than one would expect. He barked twice, looked to Remus, and back to Harry, before barking again. 

Remus _wingardium leviosa_ 'd Padfoot so heíd be level with Harry's face. He began licking Harry mercilessly. Harry laughed, trying to shove Padfoot away. 

"Padfoot, no! Gross, who knows what's been in your mouth!" he said, as Padfoot managed to get his tongue in Harry's mouth. They both froze. Harry groaned and began rubbing the back of his hand on his tongue, saying "Ew, so gross, Padfoot germs, ewww" over and over again. 

Padfoot was whining and licking the bark of the tree. Remus rolled his eyes and let Padfoot down gently before throwing a mouth-cleaning spell at his mouth, and then at Harry's. They looked at him gratefully for one moment, and then the next, he had Padfoot leaping into his lap, knocking him and the chair he was in over. He began his assault on Remus' face, dampening it. 

"Padfoot, no! Padfoot!" Remus couldn't help laughing when the giant black dog's tongue moved to his hand. 

Remus gave up fighting back and moved his hand from Padfoot's mouth so he could pet Padfoot's head, scritch his ears, and pet him just the way he liked. 

Harry helped himself down from the tree and walked over to Remus, looking down at him and Padfoot on the ground. He was grinning from ear to ear. 

"You two are absolutely ridiculous. I love you," Harry said, face soft and sappy. 

Suddenly, instead of a giant black dog on him, Remus had a short aristocrat on him. He kissed Remus' cheek, then his lips, then the side of his face, before licking his ear. 

"Padfoot!" Remus shouted, cringing away from the cold tongue. Sirius just grinned mischievously. 

They wrestled for a few minutes, Harry watching. He conjured himself a lawn chair and _accio_ 'd Remus' popcorn. 

Sirius landed a light punch, and Remus dramatically whipped his head back in response before landing a light punch in Sirius' side. He fake groaned and lost the upper hand. Remus flipped them around so he was on top and pinned Sirius' hands above his head. 

He wasn't actually trapping Sirius there, and Sirius could easily escape his grip. 

Then Sirius rolled his hips. Harry groaned in dismay. "Gu-uys. Come on. Are you really going to...?" he trailed off uncertainly. 

Remus grimaced and got up, bringing Sirius with him. "Sorry, Harry. We'll find someplace more... Out of sight." 

"Appreciated," Harry mumbled, shaking his head. 

Remus and Sirius walked off to find a concealed place where they could set up some wards. They did, and Sirius pulled out a small rectangle. 

"Could you, er, de-shrink this?" Sirius asked sheepishly. "I still haven't managed to properly succeed, and I rather like this bed." 

Remus looked at him a moment before bursting into laughter. "Sirius, you're the best. You're the- You're the best," Remus stumbled over his words a bit, leaning on Sirius as he laughed. 

"What?" Sirius asked defensively. 

"You- You-" Remus was too busy laughing to get more than a word out at a time. Sirius glared at him as he regained his composure. 

"You brought a bloody mattress so we could fuck at a, at an important fucking ceremony!" Remus finally got out, face flushed and smile lighting up his face. 

Sirius just shrugged, pleased with himself. "I'm a genius, I know," he said haughtily. 

"You are a genius," Remus confirmed, taking the mattress and returning it to its natural size. 

They worked together to erect wards, among other things, and then proceeded to jump into bed together. 

It was by no means the best sex they'd ever had, but definitely fun, and it helped to relax Sirius, who had forgotten how stressful it was being out in public. Watched. 

It also helped ground Sirius, who had been overwhelmed from the wide open area. He was irrationally afraid he'd be attacked by Dementors and Death Eaters in such a big area. 

Being in a covered area and covered by Remus helped alleviate a lot of that, and he suspected the bruises on his hips and upper arms would be a source of grounding for later. 

Remus didn't quite understand, but didn't heal the blossoming bruises when he and Sirius were making themselves presentable. 

After they had sex, they laid together in the morning sun. They said nothing, but held one another close, gazing up into the sky.

They dozed off like that, and woke up sometime later, when the sun was properly overhead. 

Remus' skin ached, and it took him a moment to realise why. He groaned and began to curse the sun, Sirius, himself, and just about anything else he could think of. 

Sirius awoke to Remus' grumbling, and raised an eyebrow in question without opening his eyes. 

"I still have no idea how you do that," Remus said before continuing, "I'm sun burnt." 

Sirius grimaced, opening his eyes. He looked to Remus, who was indeed rather pink. "I didn't think to pack sunburn ointment. I'm sorry, Moony," he whispered, leaning close and gently pressing his lips to Remus'. 

Remus' lips twitched under his, but stayed in place. Remus eventually broke away and cast a _tempus_. 

"It's lunchtime. I suppose we should make our reappearance, don't you, Padfoot?" Remus asked gently. 

Sirius groaned for show. While he didn't want to move, he was also superbly hungry. 

Once they packed up the mattress and redressed, they headed to the lunch line, which was surprisingly short. Upon asking, they found out the toddler game of _Pila n'angere_ was intense this year, so many people were busy watching that. 

Sirius shrugged and got his food before heading off to find a table, leaving Remus running to catch up once he'd gotten his own food. 

Remus' hand darted out to prevent Sirius from getting the first bite into his mouth. Remus glanced to the offering bowl before reminding Sirius, "We put a portion of our food on the offering plate." His voice was soft and understanding, but Sirius still looked horrified at his faux pas. 

"I can't believe I forgot," Sirius whispered, ashamed. He dropped his bite onto the offering plate carefully, before cutting sections from all of his food to put onto the offering plate. 

Remus did the same before reaching a hand out for Sirius; his own offering. When Sirius took his hand, he was relieved. He wasn't overwhelmed by his shame, at least. 

"I'm sorry, Remus," Sirius said, still whispering. "I don't know how I could forget the food offering to the gods. I don't deserve to be blessed with the gift of magick." 

Remus gave him a pained look before going to the other side of the table to hold Sirius close to him. "That is nonsense, Sirius, and you know it. Everybody forgets about their offering sometime or another. It's okay. You deserve magick, Sirius. You deserve to be here. You are Good." 

Remus rocked slightly while whispering reassurances to Sirius. He repeated them a few times and promised Sirius he wasn't lying. He even solemnly swore; something he hadn't done for a very long time. Not to a person anyway. 

It took a while for Sirius to calm down, and that was okay. By the time he had calmed down, though, the toddler game had ended, and there were many more people in the area. 

Sirius looked around him, and then to Remus, whose chin rested on his shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said, shame in his voice. 

Remus smiled, and Sirius felt it against his neck. "You've nothing to apologise for. Now, what do you say we finish eating then see if we can't find you some candy floss?" 

Sirius felt a smile tug at his lips, which surprised him. "That sounds amazing, Moony. What would I do without you?" he asked. 

Remus didn't answer. They both knew Sirius wouldn't be here without him, for one of many, many reasons. They had each saved one another during Battles many times, among others. 

Remus dragged his plate to their side of the table, and they ate in silence, considering the bustle around them. Once they finished, Remus carefully set the offerings dish on the ground under the table while Sirius got up, before getting up himself. 

They meandered from booth to booth, until they stumbled upon the fish booth. 

Remus, being tall; significantly taller than Sirius, anyway, saw it first. He froze in place, and Sirius kept on ahead, not realising why Remus stopped. Until he did, and Sirius himself froze. 

"What do you want to do, Sirius?" Remus asked gently, unsure. 

Sirius took a few deep, fortifying breaths before squaring his shoulders. "I'm going to win that wolf." Remus' eyebrows knit together in confusion. 

Sirius, sensing his confusion, explained. "There is a stuffed wolf as a prize. I'm going to win it. For the baby." 

Remus groaned. It was lucky that everyone knew he was a werewolf, or surely everyone would know by now. He shook his head in disbelief. 

Sirius pulled a few knuts out of his pocket and handed them over. The old wizard running the booth looked uncomfortable, but handed him the pole. 

Sirius set to work, and managed to get one bronze and two red fish. The stuffed wolf was in the gold category. Sirius just nodded and handed over a few more knuts, continuing on. 

It took a handful of knuts, but Sirius finally managed to snag a golden fish. With a loud "Aha!" he picked up the vinyl fish from the edge of the pool and handed it proudly to the man. 

"Which would you like, Mr. Black?" he asked, gesturing to the gold section on the wall. 

"I'll have the wolf, please." Sirius responded in a regal accent. Remus just shook his head as Sirius accepted the wolf. 

"You know it's twice the size as our baby is going to be, right?" Remus asked, worriedly. Sirius nodded. 

"I'm counting on it," he said mischievously. _Oh boy._

The wizard behind them had a bright smile on his face as he asked, "do you want to use your other fish, or would you like to toss them back in?" 

Sirius used his fish to buy a couple smaller stuffed animals, one of a dog and one of a monkey. Sirius knew Tonks would pretend to be upset, but wouldn't actually be. So it'd be okay. He smiled as he considered if he wanted any of the smaller prizes. 

He shrugged and decided on a dozen dung bombs and a yo-yo. 

Remus just went with it, realising that as long as Sirius was happy, he'd put up with absolutely anything. 

The next booth they went to had candy floss, and Sirius just stared in wonder. The booth itself looked the same, but the technique had gotten better; now you could get candy floss shaped like people. 

They were selling candy floss of Harry for six sickles - two sickles more than any other person you wanted, which would go to the newly formed Wizarding orphanage. It was overfilled already, and they just opened last week. Hopefully the children would be adopted soon, but... 

Remus shook his head. "I'll have one Harry Potter please," he said, attempting to keep a straight face as he handed the witch running the booth the money for it. The number on the back board changed, now reading "261G 18S raised" underneath a chalk rendition of Harry's face. 

This made Sirius snap out of it, and he guffawed. "I can't believe Harry okayed this!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. 

"It's for a good cause," Remus said, accepting his Harry candy floss from the witch. He took an unceremonious bite out of Harry's head, and Sirius grimaced before ordering his own lion in Gryffindor colours. 

The two ate their candy floss in relative silence, meandering from booth to booth. They stopped at a few, but mostly occupied themselves by watching the people around them. 

After no time at all, dinner was served. The line was significantly longer, since the children's game didn't go long. Sirius decided to run around in his dog form for a while, to burn off his sugar high. 

Remus got both of their food, and Sirius gracefully sat down across from him as soon as he sat down. 

"And where did you come from?" Remus asked curiously. 

Sirius shrugged. "I got distracted playing fetch with a couple of kids on the other side of the grounds." 

Remus nodded in understanding before asking, "Did you clean your mouth?" Sirius grimaced in response before casting a mouth cleaning charm on himself. 

"Thanks for the reminder, Moony." Sirius smiled gratefully. 

Remus shrugged, putting part of his food on the offerings plate. Sirius followed suit, and then they ate in companionable silence, sneaking happy glances at one another. 

After their meal, and just before they dug into their desserts, Sirius blurted out, "I can't play _Pila n'angere_." 

Remus gave him a funny look. "I've been trying to figure out how to tell you the same thing," he admitted, looking away in shame. 

Sirius breathed a sigh in relief. "Good." 

Remus looked up in confusion. "What? Why 'good?'" he asked. 

"Because now we'll be able to help with painting the runes," Sirius said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. 

Remus nodded in understanding. "We should probably get going then, since the ceremony begins in an hour," he said, placing an offering from his dessert onto the offerings plate. He then dug into his treacle tart. 

Sirius put his own offering on the plate and then ate his dessert. 

The next half-hour was gruelling. Hermione was in charge of the rune painting, and didn't have any patience for any mischief. "This is an important historical and magical ceremony, and I refuse to let you help if you're only going to ruin it," she'd said. 

Remus suspected her brain was more frazzled than her hair. 

But Sirius took it in stride and remained... _serious_. It was exhausting work, but they'd arrived when most of it had already been done. After they were finished, they were asked to help lay out the meditation cushions in the places the map said. 

Remus made a mental note to ask her about the map later, but for now, he helped set out cushions as Hermione went around with muggle medical gloves on, carefully placing bowls down for the _sphaera appositi_ , and then placing the spheres themselves in the bowls. 

Someone else went around putting down the incense bowls, before putting the incense into it. 

They were finished ten minutes before the ceremony was set to begin, and they were instructed to get some water and relax. 

So Sirius and Remus, following instructions, left the Henge hand in hand. They each conjured a glass, and Sirius filled them both with a gentle _aguamenti_. 

They drank from their glasses slowly as they meandered around, staying close to the Henge. 

"Growing up, that had been my dream; helping set up the Henge for the evening ceremony," Remus admitted. 

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Of course it was, Remus. Fucking swot," he said lovingly, shaking his head. Remus just bumped his shoulder into Sirius' in camaraderie. 

When the five minute bell tolled, they headed to the Henge. Once they got to their places within the Henge, they remained standing. They'd be spending the next hour sitting, so standing now seemed far more appealing. 

Once Harry told everyone to take their places two minutes before the ceremony was set to begin, they took their seats, cross-legged. Their hands were still clasped, as they were unwilling to break the connection until they had to. 

The couples in the centre were handing out shot glasses full of potion. The potion looked neon orange, and looked unappetising, even though it smelled of strawberries and mint. 

There were only three couples in the centre, so it took quite a while for them to hand all the potions out. 

Once they were all handed out, and the couples were in their own places in the centre, the Chief Warlock got everyone's attention by raising his glass in a silent toast before downing his potion. Everyone followed suit. 

The taste did not get easier over time. It still tasted just as mouldy, just as bloody, and just as dirty. Remus shuddered and Sirius began dry-heaving. Remus rubbed his back until Sirius seemed to recover from the gods awful taste. 

After a short while, those in the centre waved their hands to light the incense. 

The smell didn't immediately permeate, and they waited in silence for it to spread. 

Once it did, Harry's voice rang out, "Pick up your _sphaera appositi_." 

They each picked up the bronze sphere from its bowl in front of them. 

"Get into your chosen meditative position." 

Remus stayed cross-legged, as he knew it was the only meditation position his body accepted semi-comfortably. Sirius, however, adjusted his cushion and rested it on top of his calves before placing his butt on the cushion again. 

It took a few minutes for the sounds of rustling and adjusting ended as people got comfortable. 

The Chief Warlock gave them the next instruction. "Repeat after me." He waited a moment before giving them the Latin incantation, a few words at a time. 

With every new incantation completed, a rune on their ball coloured as if painted. 

It took seemingly forever, and it seemed Sirius hadn't gotten any more patient as he aged. 

The Chief Warlock began speaking again, "Close your eyes and focus on the bell tolls. Once your mind is cleared, begin to picture pulling your magick up from your toes, into your legs, into your torso, into your chest. 

ìFrom your chest into your arms, into your hands, into your fingertips, and then into the ball you hold. 

ìI will tell you when to stop." 

Everyone closed their eyes as the bell began to toll strongly, steadily. Sirius had spent a lot of time meditating while in Azkaban, and became deeply absorbed into it. Sirius didn't even have to think as he filled the ball with his magick. Not that there was much left after missing almost two decades of ceremonies, but he did what he could. 

Sirius suddenly became aware of a hand on his arm, and he brought himself back to his body before stopping anymore magick from going into the _sphaera appositi_. 

He opened his eyes slowly, re-adjusting to the onslaught of sensory input. 

"Repeat after me," the Chief Warlock began again, slowly giving them more Latin to repeat. 

The balls were brighter than the sun, and Sirius couldn't look at his directly. 

"Place your _sphaera appositi_ back into the bowl," Harry gently commanded. 

As they did, Sirius found that the sound of metal hitting wood helped to soothe his exhaustion away. 

The Chief Warlock raised his arms up above his head. "May you give your gift to the gods, and may the gods give us our gift. As I have said, so mote it be." 

Bright lights beamed up into the sky, one for each ball. The lights connected into a constellation of magick, and it looked breathtaking. 

The light pulsed brighter, and they had to look away. 

Once the light dimmed, they looked back, and the light had vanished. The balls looked a bit burnt. 

"Do not touch the _sphaera appositi_. You may get up and leave. You are dismissed from the grounds of Stonehenge, and may you have a healthy and happy year," Harry said, dismissing them all with a small smile. 

Remus and Sirius got up, taking one another's hands, and made their way slowly out of the Henge. 

Once they were outside of it and onto the grounds, they could apparate away. Once they were home, they slowly undressed each other. It was a slow process, as they were both exhausted and sore, but when it was finally complete, they fell into bed together. 

They curled together and fell into a peaceful sleep. 

Sirius would wake the next morning rejuvenated from the full return of his magick, and in much better shape than he had been the day before. 

Nothing was perfect, and things weren't all well, but... They were together, and they had Harry. The Wizarding World was beginning to heal. They were content; they couldn't ask for more. 

All was okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to my wonderful alpha, [Shilo](http://archiveofourown.org/users/shilo1364/pseuds/shilo1364/works?fandom_id=136512) ([Shilo's tumblr](whimsicaldragonette.tumblr.com)), who has caught some pretty horrendous mistakes, my lovely beta [Anna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/annachibi/pseuds/annachibi) ([Anna's tumblr](annachibi.tumblr.com)), and to you for reading it. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it.
> 
> And, lastly, thank you to the mods of [RS Games](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RS_Games/pseuds/RS_Games) ([Dreamwidth here](https://rs-games.dreamwidth.org/)) for making and sticking with this wonderful fest for ten whole years. I'm so grateful I was here to experience its final year, and I'm so sad to see it's over. Thank you mods for all of your amazing work. Infinite kudos to you. Thank you.


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